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Grimbane
"Nothing is more cold than my death-ridden, black heart. An empty void where the dead go." For the identity, see Lucien Avaros. For his encounter in Deathheim Fortress, see Grimbane (Tactics). Grimbane is the lord of Nordrasith, a fabled and desolate land filled with plague, corruption, and decay. Being the proclaimed "Son of Death", Grimbane is a devastating undead monstrosity wielding some of the darkest powers ever witnessed in Outhria. A death-torn being, Grimbane's identity is the fallen Lucien Avaros, an elven noble of the prestigious Avaros Bloodline who seeked only redemption and strength for him and his people which he fearfully questioned he couldn't achieve. Only his sensibility of being a prince and his reputation of supreme swordsmanship kept him stable, but it wasn't enough for him to claim his destiny. Esquire, still defeated after the events of Death'kul and gaining new sources of power, envisioned a command which would feature Lucien. Rejecting his offers for power and greatness, Lucien torn away with his moral codes, before Esquire turned him into a being filled with hatred, riddance, and with a lack of morality. As Grimbane, Lucien's only sole purpose is to lead a war with the Cursed which he helped create unleash waves of plague, causing severe death allowing Esquire to further amplify his powers. Due to this, Grimbane is a prominent foe, and thus, the central antagonist of A Legend's Legacy: Rise of Grimbane. History Becoming "King" ... Rise of Grimbane ... Death's Defeat In the past timeline, Grimbane would eventually see his defeat, after his various deathly and destructive efforts. Causing the whole of Deathheim to be a subjugated wasteland, full of rot, sorrow, and emptiness, Grimbane made it sure that his lands wouldn't be taken, sending wave after wave of forces at the combined Brotherhood-Confederacy battalion, named the Nova Crusade (meaning "redemption") only to see their defeat. Grimbane was essentially cornered in his own fortress, battling the kings Nikk and Spetzraiz to the death. Displaying his mastery, Grimbane essentially defeated them in swordplay, causing the two to resort to their magics to defeat Grimbane. Grimbane's sword, combined with the Devil Plague, overwhelmed the two. A last final strike with the both of them combining their weapons together, shattered Grimbane's weapon. Grimbane's energies of darkness, decay, and the plague all surrounded him as they weren't capable of being wielded. A final strike of powerful magic by the two of them invoking the wrath of the surrounding natures ultimately crushed Grimbane, ending his malefic reign. As Grimbane's persona wore off, Lucien Avaros appeared before them, lost and unaware of anything. Seeing the kings, Lucien signaled them toward the column behind his throne, holding the Reliquia Mortis, the source of Grimbane's creation and his own malefic intent, holding the powers of the ancient Avarosian kings who were cast upon by a curse of Death. Nikk and Spetzraiz aimed their weapons and destroyed the artifact, purging it beneath the terrain of Deathheim. As they did, Lucien's life expired, the memory of the once destined king vanished forever; his evil second half also dying with him, only until one specific event brought him back. Great Turnback With the Great Turnback, an event organized by Grimmok, and O.M.N.I., Grimbane's resurfacing was allowed through the means of time-space manipulation using a static timeline. It was only the end of the Reborn Maelstrom War that the Two Kings discovered their frailty. With the defeat of Grimmok and OMNI, the two kings combined with the Golden Oculus research group, retrieved the Paradox Orb used by the two, and analyzed it's usage. Seeing a frail orb of various singularities, they discovered that the events caused by the orb signaled events from before the war itself, essentially transforming the world of old into the reborn timeline. As such, with Grimbane's previous defeat having occurred long before the Maelstrom War itself, Grimbane resurfaced, and came back with a vengeance; these events were what would become a reality. A look of the kings at the main professor, Andro Mikael, only caused him to say "Oh no..." thus knowing of the danger they were about to face. The Brotherhood and The Confederacy 'quickly reported back to their home bases and began action. 'War of Emberreach The war with the Cultroz organization, a band of undead necromancers, will be revealed to have been controlled by Grimbane as he makes an appearance in the final quest of the zone. Grimbane himself makes an appearance in 111 The King Appears, and boldly challenges the Nova's March, as the Battle of Emberreach unfolds. He is engaged by the players, Ebonrage the Bringer, Vezan, and Arnathus Firestorm. Vezan defeats several of the Cursed minions, before he is strangulated by Grimbane. During this time, Vezan could hear Lucien's voice whisper "Death'Mras" before he is thrown to the ground, nearly asphyxiated. Grimbane tries to control him again, but fails due to Ebonrage's interference. Arnathus vows to destroy Grimbane, and distracts him, noticing Vezan quietly picking up his maul. Arnathus quickly empowers Vezan's maul, whom smashes Grimbane's shoulderplate with it. Grimbane cuts Vezan, leaving him to bleed heavily, and retreats, saying the fight will be here again. When Vezan recovers in 111 Speak Soullessly, he mentions Grimbane whispering to him, and the Operation Morning Light is created, with the Nova's March now off to rescue Lucius Avaros, their former commander (and Grimbane/Lucien's son). If players talk to Lucius afterwards, they mention Grimbane's whispers. Lucius states that perhaps Grimbane is regaining his sanity, as Lucius' father, Lucien. 'Reign of the Skeletons' Hoping to gain Titan's knowledge about the lands in hopes of developing stronger technology, Grimbane will be using his forces to scour the land in Titan's Reign. Grimbane features in a cutscene encountering a cult of extremely powerful mages, as they arrive from portals linked to an unknown destination. Grimbane kills all but the leader, and coldly states "Leave." Plague's Prisoner As the Devil Plague lies dormant, Grimbane will have his battalion, the Arrogantion Legion guard Duskpeak Pass so that the plague cannot be used against his forces, or have it destroy the lands and fool his plans. Battle for the Living Isle Grimbane will send Cursed battalions with battleships in attacking the Isle of Living, finding their secrets. Glaecings Redux Sending forces to Glaecings, Grimbane will be both a helping hand and a hinderer, as he wishes to use Glaecings as a resource (due to it's hidden mana core). In Game Grimbane will appear in most zones, most notably where major raid encounters appear, recovering more knowledge and power. He is stated to be a "reward" at the end of the Emberreach quests, stating that he will fight for the zone. He will have a major role in the Duskspeak Pass and Titan's Reign zones, and will be the final boss of the expansion. His fortress will be located in Deathheim. He plays a huge part in most (not all) the dungeons introduced in the expansion. It is stated that he will also lead a huge force to claim the Isle of Living, composing of several elite mobs, and the Cursed. 'The End of Death' "Let them come. Death welcomes everyone." Grimbane, at the height of the battle for Nordrasith, falls back to Deathheim Fortress. During his efforts in the region, he witnesses the collapsing of a portion of the Blackened Gate thanks to the efforts of the Nova's March. He rounds up several of their members with the use of his pets, the Shade Mastiff, and forces them into a life-and-death battle in the Gauntlet of Throes. The majority of the March escape, overpowering his cursed legions. Laughing at their efforts to barely survive, Grimbane tells his forces to hold out at the Spitegate, watching the events unfold from his fortress. At the Spitegate, Ebonrage the Bringer manages to lead an operation to completely topple the gates themselves, destroying the very foundation of the structure. Grimbane, in a matter of fury, sends Cruentus, the right hand of Esquire to protect the gate. Cruentus agrees, acting more sadistic than before. Arnathus Firestorm manages to incinerate Cruentus to a near-death state; Grimbane retaliates by summoning dark tendrils to "detonate" Cruentus. Doing so, Cruentus' volatile body destroys the lower part of the gate, causing the walls to fall and kill several March members and Arnathus himself. In the distance, Cruentus' laugh is heard, implying he isn't dead. At Lucien's Fall, the sight of where Lucien became Grimbane, the Brotherhood or the Confederacy establish a foothold there, Grimbane comes himself to oversee the "building of self-demise", acknowledging the Two Kings (dependent on the adventurer's faction). Grimbane agrees to a duel with either Nikk or Spetzraiz, and gets them to the point where they are about to be killed; Grimbane ushers that they will become his "ultimate servant". However, Nikk or Spetzraiz get a second wind, and disarm Grimbane. Grimbane tells them that "no one defeats him" and with blade in hand, corrodes the entire platform, summoning horrid amounts of flesh like beings to consume the Brotherhood and Confederacy forces. Though many are lost, the flesh beasts are eventually eradicated. The adventurers reach Malis Hold, and Grimbane tells Var'kalst, a powerful Lich and a member of the Cultroz that if he fails to defend this hold, he will execute him himself, or have the "King of the Cult" dismember him "experimentally". To Var'kalst's efforts, he destroys a large part of the Nova's March operations, even wounding Ebonrage with a large chunk of bloody ice, but not enough to kill him. Grimbane, seeing the failure, appears behind the Lich and impales him on his blade, absorbing what is left of him into his weapon. Tired of his constant moments of displeasure, he invites them all to face him, as "death welcomes everyone". Travelling to Etherheim, the village where Lucien was born, Lucius Avaros discovers that despite the complete, evil consumption of Deathheim itself fails to consume the beauty of Etherheim. Because of this, Lucius believes that in Grimbane's heart, there exists the "good" of Lucien, in that even while under his dark heart, he can't turn his back on the one town that made him happy. With this in mind, Lucius leads a revolution onto the Deathheim Fortress. Grimbane, all of his forces defeated, including his Nexknight, Jasal, appears as the final boss of the Deathheim Fortress raid. Fighting Lucius and the adventurers, Grimbane uses all of his dark power to keep them at bay, including raining meteors of sadness and despair on the raid, in an attempt to make them his minions. Lucius manages to crack the "visage" of Grimbane, forcing him to be impaled on his blade, before Grimbane kicks him off the platform. Using the Devil Plague contained in his blade, he manages to overpower the adventurers, making them frighteningly ill. Lucius, having survived, climbs up the platform and disarms Grimbane, stopping the spread of the Plague. Grimbane engages in a brawl with Lucius, pinning him to the ground and using his Aspect of Death ability to show him his greatest despair. Seeing that Lucius' greatest despair was his loss of his father, Grimbane starts to lose control of himself. The adventurers damage him as he executes a blind rage, summoning evil spectres and undead beings to destroy everything around him. After healing Lucius, Lucius finds a weak spot in Grimbane's armor, and impales him, destroying the outer "Grimbane" shell and restoring his father's former appearance as the skeleton mask slowly turns to dust. Personality Grimbane's initial behaviour is opposite of Lucien Avaros', which was trusting, bold, and compassionate. Instead, Grimbane is hateful, determined, and undoubtedly nihilistic. He is however, very intelligent and calculable, seeing errors poised to be in his path and assessing the situation very greatly. Grimbane figures if his power alone won't solve the problem or current state of affair, that he'll end the battle on a high note - which is often using legions of his own forces to decimate the invaders. Weapons and Armour Grimbane's armory is nearly as malefic and malevolent as he is himself. He wields a deadly two handed weapon, which is an evolved form of his classic, elvish rapier, reminiscent of his ace class skills with swordsmanship. The blade is a darkened reaver; black and mysterious, with the blade protruding dark, plaguant energies from it, adorned in a deadly skull. It's power alone allows it to transform nearby environment into a desolate memento. The blade is known as "Grimbane's Vestige" although paradoxically as it resembles nothing of his past. His weapon's name as a rapier was Agosatr, now it is known as Sorg'alene, Woe of Avarosia. '''His armor is fashioned into skulls and various bones, all covered in a black cape he wears around himself. Icy, blood colored veins appear on the armor, as a reminder of the fear and woe he bestows. Abilities and Powers Grimbane has a host of abilities gained from his two personalities; himself and his identity, Lucien Avaros. As Lucien, a son of the Avaros Bloodline, is an extremely skilled and proficient swordsmen. The Avaros were probably some of, if not the best swordsmen and women ever seen in both Elven warfare and world warfare. However, Lucien was stated to be one of their best. He was trained by Elder Unsy'n Dod Ibenbywydau, the last of the Avarosian elders. As Lucien, he also developed an affinity for frost magic, most notably using it in demonstration to summon the first snowfall in the Nordrasith lands. His skill with it was so great he could freeze someone from below without even concentrating. As a swordsman, in his prime, only five people have defeated him or gotten close. As Grimbane, a created spawn of Esquire, he possesses several powers, derived from his being as an Aspect of Death and with the sword he wields. Grimbane is able to showing his opponent's their most haunting memories, making them wish they never beared witness, or filling them with self-inflicting regret. His control over frost magic increased heavily, as well as developing lightning and shadow magic affinities. Grimbane is able to combine the two to utilize '''Black Lightning, which he uses against his opponents, or revive the dead with a dark barrier. Grimbane is also a master necromancer, able to resurrect the dead, most notably whoever he kills, with almost perfect resemblance. His weapon which is still unnamed, has been plunged into the Devil Plague, allowing him complete control over it's properties, making the gas hyper-malleable and can make beings of horror spawned from it. He is also able to heal from blood using blood magic, and can even consume the plague itself to restore his being, without any internal or external damage. He is on par with the Two Kings in terms of power, but above them in swordplay. Quests According to LegendsCon III, there will be multiple quests where you encounter Grimbane, and even a few where you help him (under disguise). Quotes *''"Nothing is more cold than my death-ridden, black heart. An empty void where the dead go."'' *''"Death is the only eternal, the only absolute. You never live forever, you will eventually crumble to dust, drifting into an endless hell only to witness what really is endless, death itself."'' *''"The immortal ones even wish for Death... because they will eventually want to die. Immortality is a curse."'' *''"I am the reaper. Your time has come."'' Trivia *Grimbane is an Aspect of Death, namely Despair. He does however, have powers of other Aspects. *Grimbane was created twice, in two different ways. In the past timeline, Grimbane was a malefic entity with no master, created by trying to absorb the magics of the Reliquia Mortis, an artifact of Death, one of the four horsemen, used by his ancient warriors in forgotten times. This caused Lucien Avaros to be overwhelmed by it's haunting memories and thus transform him. In the new timeline, Esquire created Grimbane using the Reliquia Mortis (Lucien couldn't find it in the new timeline due to it being destroyed in the past, and it was not preserved with the Great Turnback) which he obtained using the Scepter of Stolen Death, but this time, he would be Grimbane's master. *Grimbane's weapon(s) have meanings. Agosatr in Die means "Going Free" but in Welsh it means "togetherness", whereas Sorg'alene in Die means "Sword of Emptiness"; the Norse translation is "Sorrow and lonely". *Grimbane is confirmed to be the final boss of the Rise of Grimbane expansion, but not the final encounter. Category:Characters